Duncan leads balanced attack as Spurs crush Blazers

Duncan collected 16 points and nine rebounds to lead four
starters in double figures as the San Antonio Spurs cruised to a
98-84 triumph over the struggling Trail Blazers.

Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili scored 14 points apiece for the
Spurs, who have won seven consecutive meetings against Trail
Blazers.

Parker played just 21 minutes in his return after missing
Wednesday's 110-96 win at Memphis with a strained right hip.

"It felt great," Parker said. "(Gregg Popovich, Spurs coach)
decided to limit my minutes because we have back-to-back with
Allen Iverson (Wednesday). We had a good win. We played pretty
good defense and shot the ball well. Overall it was a good
win."

San Antonio has captured back-to-back wins since dropping a
season-worst three straight games.

"I think we improved defensively in the last five games,"
Ginobili said. "We are not playing as good offensively, but we
moved the ball well and had a lot of open looks. So we are going
to try and keep it up."

The Spurs took control for good in the third quarter behind an
impressive 19-8 surge that push their lead to 71-52 with 4:09
remaining. Duncan and Parker combined for nine points during
the run.

"(Duncan's) the heart and soul of what we do," Popovich said.
"He predicates what we do on offense and defense. He's done a
great job shouldering that responsibility."

Portland cut the deficit to 81-71, but San Antonio used a 12-4
burst, highlighted by two 3-pointers from defensive-minded Bruce
Bowen, who finished 4-of-6 from the arc.

"It's about sharing the ball," Bowen said. "Tim has to recognize
if they're coming or not coming at him and dish the ball out or
keep it. Once he kicks it out it's up to us to move the ball
and that's what will make us successful."

"The Spurs will hurt you with perimeter shooting," Portland
coach Nate McMillan said. "This team has been set up to win
championships for years."

Zach Randolph had 24 points and nine rebounds and rookie
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 17 off the bench for the Blazers, who
shot 45 percent (32-of-71) from the field.

"Zach really stepped up for us and showed his potential as a
team leader," McMillan said.

Portland surrendered 28 points off 19 turnovers.

"Turnovers really killed us," McMillan said. "Our perimeter
needs to do a better job with recognizing rotations and
capitalizing on mistakes. Frustration played a major factor. We
need to learn to keep our composure."